City of Darkness
by MCLoveProductions
Summary: Home. It's where your heart is. Or so they say. What if you don't have a heart? I think I'm broken far beyond repair. It's not your fault, your the one who tried. Not that this shit matters. Because out here in the dark, death is what we call home. Sequel to Arrow's in The Darkness. Alyssa Dixon is out searching for answers, in hopes of finding herself before she loses her mind.
1. Home Coming

_**A|N: **_

**HOLY ISH WHO AM I?!**

**Lol hello my lovelies, Mel is back with more of your favorite mini Dixon, Alyssa!**

**Get ready for the super exciting sequel of Arrow's of The Darkness! If you haven't read AiTD yet, THEN BACK THE FUCK UP BRO! **

**JK! But seriously, if you haven't go give it a read! City of Darkness is a very Alyssa Dixon central story with hints of other favorite thrown in the mix! I can't wait to finally share this story with you guys! Hope it proves a worry predecessor to my last FF. Well here we gooo...**

**As Always, TWD is not mine. Only my OC Alyssa is!**

* * *

_**Home**__. It's where your heart its. __**Or so they say.**__ What defines a home? Is it where you lay your head at night? Where your family is? Your friends? What if they are like family too? What if you have no family.__** And what if you have no heart?**__ Sometimes it's like mine is just not there any more. I have a hard time remembering what your face looks like.. what her voice sounds like. What his eyes looks like. I long to hear the sweet sound of her little laugh. Or just to hear a familiar voice say my name.__** I think I'm broken far beyond repair**__. It's not your fault, your the one who tried fixing me in the first place. You were the only one who had ever tried. But maybe I'm not meant to have a home. Maybe it's just how shit works. Or it's God's plan or some other bull shit that some fucker would make up. __**Not that this shit matters.**__ Because I'm not home no more._

**_And out here in the dark, death is what we call home._**

**Maybe that's why I can't hear you.**

_Alyssa?.._

_Alyssa.. where are you? _

_Are you there? I'm scared Lyss..._

_Alyssa...! _

In the darkness voice's yelled out the name that meant nothing to her. Different voices, some familiar, some from a memory long forgotten. She couldn't tell where they were coming from, with every voice becoming faint and father away. It was like they were moving away from her, and in an attempt to find something real she yelled for them. Silent yells that she could only hear in her head. It felt like a fire was being lit beneath her, her eyes burned as they opened looking for something safe to calm her mind. In a blurry haze she looked around, looking for the voices who called that name. A name she had heard before but didn't remember. Her cries for help sounded like inaudible noises. As fear took over her body, making it hard for her to move. A shadow hovered over her, sweet voices speaking softly.

"Shush now. Easy does it."

She couldn't see a face, the darkness made it impossible. Gasping for air her vision became a blur until once again all she could see was total darkness. Sweet voice's putting her back to sleep. If this was death, at least she couldn't feel it. At least this way; home was unnecessary.

* * *

_**"I want you to know what loneliness feel's like. What it sounds like." **__The piercing echo of bullets being fired roared over the overbearing pounding of the storm outside. Two bodies fell to the floor, blood overflowing onto the wooden floor. Dark eyes shot up, the barrel of death staring her down. Her heart dropped, thunder and lightning dancing around outside. She was to die alone, just like everyone else. Her body paralyzed, it was like her feet betrayed her.__** "I want you to know what death does to you. How it ruins you. Especially when it's not your own."**_

_**"No... Sebastian!**_

_**Don't you hurt them!"**_

_**NO! **_

_**I WON'T LET YOU!**_

* * *

"NO!" She jumped out of her sleep in a panic. Sweat dripping down a pale face, and tired look to her deep brown eyes. Guess this isn't death after all. The darkness had left her alone for a moment. The moon beams filling the small bed room with lot's of light. It wasn't a bad room, it was nice figuring no one had lived here for a long time. It was almost too nice... nothing like what she had seen in her travels before.

_ Where am I? _

Weary eyes looked around for around the lifeless room, confused for the moment. She had never seen this place before. Did she fall asleep and forget? Her memories felt like such a blur. She tried to get up from the bed and look around but her bones felt like they would break if she moved.

I don't know this place.. I didn't bring myself here.. which means...

The eerie creaking of the bed room door startled her, making her want to reach for her crossbow but it was no where in site. In a moment of terror, she coward back into the bed, fearing nothing but the worse. Then as the door moved slowly open a figure squeezed through the door way, closing it carefully behind them. Threw the shadows she couldn't see a face, only a dark tall silhouette.

"W-who..." She could barely get a word out, heavily breathing in and out as if she just ran a race.

As the figure moved closer to her she could make out the face. A tall male she had never seen before, tan skin with long jet black dreads. The man rushed to her bed side like if he had knew the girl his whole life, placing the back side of his hand to her forehead. "Hey now.. easy there.." His unfamiliar touch made her jerk away, but still he smiled. "I didn't think you'd ever wake up."

"W-what.. happen..?" She stuttered through short quick breaths. Trying to remain calm.

"The flu I think.. at first I thought you were bit. I check you but I still wasn't sure, but after a few days I figured it had to be just your everyday cold or flu." He reached down to the floor besides the bed into a bucket she hadn't realized was there. Inside was a wet cloth, which he picked up and rang out. Gently he brushed away her bangs, putting it against her forehead. "Had I not saw you, those dead fucks woulda got you for sure."

She listen to what he had to say, carefully trying to process everything he had to say. What stuck out of all of It was one word she definitely did not want to hear. "Wait.. D-did you say days?" She leaned closer into the cloth, enjoying the cool feeling it sent through her mind. "How long have I been out?"

"Two weeks? If I've counted right.." His head turned to the wall across from them, in chalk tally marks where kept to count the days and above them read the words:

**Still breathing.**

_That's right. I am still breathing, aren't I?_

* * *

A few hours had passed. It had been good while since she had moved her own body, so the stranger had helped her get up, letting her stretch. After cleaning up and finally using the bathroom she found him in the living room. The windows were barred up, planks of wood and nails the only think protecting the glass. He was sitting at the couch, in front of him a gun was taken apart and he was cleaning it's barrel with a rag. To his side, her bag sat against the couch. Her crossbow on the seat it leaned against. With a blanket wrapped around her she joined him in the little sitting area, sitting on the love seat across from where he was. She didn't speak until he finally looked up at him, nothing wanting to disturb him. Yet when she looked up she could tell he had been waiting for her. "You've taken care of me for two weeks... why?"

He stared at her for a moment, his hands still cleaning out the inside of the barrel as his eyes kept its target. They stared at each other, a shitty time for an awkward silence in her opinion. There was so many questions she had for him, and keeping quiet had only made her suspicious of him. After a few moments he sighed, putting his things down on the table in front of him. "I had found you a couple weeks earlier, before you were sick. I ran out of gas of course. When I saw your car, and I had plan on taking yours from you.. but.."

"But?" Alyssa tilted her head, his story getting more interesting by the minute.

"I'm no idiot, I watched you for a good days. Trying to see who's bad side I was about to get on, and whether they would kill me before..." It was obvious what he meant. Life was a game of chance, wasn't it? She let him continue, nodding for him to go on. "Anyway, I saw you leave your car behind one day, guessing you went hunting. When I went to take your gas, I heard a noise in the forest. I got curious and went to check it out." He sat more forward, his hands clasping together as his elbows rested on his knees. "You had passed out right in front of a biter, and believe it or not. I was a good person once."

His story was understandable. Had she been not such a skilled hunter she would have done the same to others as he had tried with her. They lived in a world where trusting no one was the name of the game, and survival of the fittest kept you alive. Because when you were alone you were all you could trust, and she knew that well. "Weren't we all." They sat and silence for a few moments, the slight presence of tension lingering in the room with them. There was a thousand ways this could end up, being alone with this strange man. A million ways this could end up bad for her. Still, she wanted to believe that maybe for once the worst outcome wasn't the only one. "Thank you, I mean it."

"No problem." He smiled and she could almost see the relief in his eyes. Today was their lucky day, and maybe she had found someone she could consider trusting. "You can call me Boston." She smiled back at him. Boston, huh, smart move. She knew that wasn't his real name, and not trusting her was understandable on his half. "You know, I've been calling you 'S' this whole time but I'm sure you gotta a name nicer than Boston."

_'__**S**__'? 'S'... why would he call me.._.

Her eyes lingered down to where he was looking at. An exposed wrist that revealed an ugly old scar. Some nights she wished she could carve it off, but that would make it look worse. She was quick to pull her sleeve down, wanting nothing more to forget that it was there. "T'at sure as hell ain't my name. " It had came out a bit colder than intended, but still she wasn't worried about hurting a strangers feelings. Clearing her voice she calmed down, trying to make herself relax. "But since you saved my life... m'Alyssa. Alyssa Dixon."

"Alyssa... I like that better." The way he said her name was like fulfilling a wish she had too long desired. It had been too long time since she had heard a friendly voice say her name. Let alone speak to another living person. Her eye's kept track of Boston getting up from where he was sitting, following his every movement. "I bet your hungry, stay here I'll be right back." Leaving his things he left the room, finally letting Alyssa be alone for a moment.

Once he was gone Alyssa lifted herself out of chair, growling at the pain she felt as she moved. She stretched her back, listening to the cracking sounds it made as she twist and turned. _Had it really been two weeks?_ She made her way to the window, lifting up the curtains slowly to look outside. As she moved it blinding beams of light blasted between the cracks and peep holes the wooden plans and created, blinding her enough to make her hand shoot up to her face to block its powerful light. When the light settled she could see trees and tall buildings. As well as a skyline she knew all too well.

At it's beautiful and iconic sight tears fell to her eyes. It had many long years since Alyssa had seen such a sight, a picture in her mind that couldn't compare to the real thing. There was truly no place like it. She chuckled to her self a bit, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm home." As she watched the lonely skyline, Alyssa could door behind her creak open. Listening to the footsteps behind her as they moved closer. "S'still the greatest sight I've ever seen."

"Ya from here, Dixon?" Boston asked her, tapping her side with an energy bar.

Alyssa grabbed the bar from his hand, feeling their fingers touch as she took the bar away from him. "Yup. Born n'raised.. s'been too long since I've been 'ere." Slowly she opened the wrapping of the bar, taking a rather large bite out of it. "How did ya know I was headin' this way?"

"I didn't." Boston replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "This was why I needed the gas, to get here. We were so close, I wasn't giving up. "

"What for ya 'ere?" Alyssa asked finishing off the energy bar. "Most folks stay clear of big cities, so why don' you?"

Boston pointed to something in the distance. As she leaned closer to the window, Alyssa squinted her eyes trying to get a better look of what he was trying to show her. The view in front of them looked mighty familiar to Alyssa. It was New York City, no doubt about it, but something about this picture just wasn't perfect. For a moment she thought maybe he was just fucking with her, and there was really nothing there.

"Ain't nothin' there..." Alyssa's head shot back, a lost look to her face, but Boston said nothing. He only nodded his head back at the window, so Alyssa looked back again. She looked and looked trying to figure out what he was trying to prove by making her stare out into a empty view. Yet as the minutes went by and Alyssa tried to picture what the city had once looked like before, what Boston was trying to point out had become more and more obvious.

There was _nothing_ there... that was the point.

"The GWB..."

"Gone, since about four months or so after the infection took over. Once the Government crashed they just.. blew 'em up. They say there's someone living in there, and that they are the ones who took them out." Boston sighed, crossing his arms in front of him. "Bout six months back I heard from some guy back in Canada that New York was safe... that being said the same asshole tried to shoot me..."

Alyssa scoffed, "This place ain't no holy land, if t'at 's what yer after."

"But you know the lack of bridges look promising." When Alyssa looked up she could see Boston staring her way. He smiled, moving one of his hands to ruffle his dreads. "What do you say, Dixon, ready to get back in the field? We may of not stared off on good terms but hey, what do you got to lose?"

Alyssa glared at him for a moment. _This guy is really fucking serious?_ Sure he saved her life, but Boston was nuts. There was nothing left in New York. The city looked just as dead as all the other cities she had past. Still there was something about him that seemed promising. He had, in a way, got her even closer to watch she was searching for. And even though what she was searching for probably just a pipe dream, it would be nice to not be alone anymore. After all he was the reason she was still breathing in the first place. Besides just like he had said, what did she have to lose?

She chuckled, this was gonna be ridiculous amongst so many other things. As she glance up at Boston she kept on her best poker face just to see his most honest reaction. "Ya know had I not gotten sick, I woulda killed ya fer takin' my gas."

Boston smiled dropped, keeping a consistent silence between them. There was something about him she wanted to trust, but his story was something Alyssa must read a day at time. After all, they had only met today and he was just about ready to leave her to die. What kept her curiosity was that he didn't, even with the golden opportunity right there, and that made her want to trust him. Then after what felt like an hour of agonizing silence Boston finally smiled again, keeping his smile as he walked away from the window. "I know."


	2. The Crossing

**A|N:**

**See I told you guys I would update City of Darkness! I'm happy I can get back into my grove of writing fan fictions. There is just about nothing else I love doing that writing. R&amp;R my lovelies, and thanks for being so patient with me!**

**TWD is not mine.**

* * *

"So Boston, there's no damn bridge.. anywhere. So what's your grand plan?" They had been staring into the Hudson River for twenty minutes too long for Alyssa's liking. Standing at the edge of what was left of the George Washington Bridge, they got a better view of what their had gotten themselves into. Getting to New York was easy, crossing the Hudson River? Now that was the tricky part.

"Well ya know, I just figure we swim.." Boston looked up from the map laid across the hood of the car with a dumb smile on his face.

Alyssa snorted, adjusting the crossbow strap over her shoulder as she leaned the car. "Hell fuckin' no."

"I kid, jesus." Boston smirked as he looked back at the map, pointing at the coast of Fort Lee. "See all these houses across the way from the City? One of them must of owned a boat. We don't need a big one. Fuck we don't even need a motorboat. Just something that floats."

"I'm sure we'll find something, but we better get moving." Alyssa pointed out to the distance and when Boston turned around he could see that there were a couple of walkers heading their way.

"We could handle that." Boston replied, starting to take the machete from its holster.

Alyssa stopped him from removing it, "Don't bother, I think these walkers are the least of our worries. Let's find a way down."

Without an argument Boston compiled, putting the map away and jumping into the passenger seat of Alyssa's car. Watching the back ground fade as they drove away from the bridge.

* * *

**_Alyssa._**

**_Why don't you come home Alyssa?_**

**_You shouldn't have left us._**

**_You shouldn't have left..._**

"Alyssa!" She could feel a rough hand grab her by the shoulder and shaken her out of her trance. The car swerved as Alyssa remembered her surroundings, crashing the car through a couple of walkers and then directly into a tree.

"Fuck!" Alyssa snapped as she slammed both hands down on the wheel. It took them a moment to collect themselves, and luckily the air bags works and their seat belts were on to keep them from getting too injured.

Boston hand reached over to grab her shoulder again, "You okay, Dixon?" She nodded taking off her seat belt, "Hey look," her head jerked up to see walkers approaching them. "White eyes, we gotta go." He got out of the car first but she hadn't yet moved. Throwing on his backpack and readying his machete before she even opened the door. "Alyssa? Hey! You got my back right?"

**_"Lyss ya got my back, right?"_**

_Daddy_. Familiar voices rang through her head as her mind subconsciously kept note of the walkers approaching them. It took a couple of minutes and for Boston to come to the other side of the car for her to notice him. "Come on, Dixon, you got my back right?"

She shook out of it as she undid her seat belt and got out of the car, quickly loading her crossbow and then grabbing her bag. "Yeah, yeah I gotcha."

They ran down the street where the houses at the end of the river were lined up trying to out run the walkers and keep out of their line of sight. They approached the first two story house and made their way inside. Boston closed the door behind him as Alyssa made her way through each room making sure the building was empty. He watched as she checked every room on the first floor then headed for the second floor. She was up there for no more than five minutes before he could hear her heading back down. "S'clear." She whispered quietly, no certain if the walkers had past.

"We stay here tonight and at day break, we head for the river and start our search for the boats." Boston pointed to heavy duty shelf near by and together he and Alyssa pushed it in front of the front door. "Come on, we'll sleep upstairs."

They made their way to one of the rooms at the far side of house, facing the Hudson. Alyssa had pulled a chair from the middle of the room over to the window. "I'll take first watch."

Not going to argue, Boston jumped on to the bed and tried to get comfortable. They sat together in an irritatingly long silence, Boston staring at the ceiling and Alyssa staring out the window. Her eyes were on the city before her, what was once full of lights and life now just darkness and death.

"So what happened back there..." Boston asked her, making Alyssa's head snap back.

Alyssa tilted her head, watching him carefully. "What 'bout it?"

Boston sat up putting his hands in his lap. "You bugged out on me, ain't the first time neither. You did it before too, when you we're sick."

She took a deep breath and then looked back out the window, keeping her hands on the head of the chair to support her face. "I don't know.."

"Don't know, huh?" Boston snorted playfully as he crossed his arms over his chest, "What kind of idiot crashed their car on an empty road at the end of the world?" A moment later a pillow went flying across the room and collided with Boston face. He couldn't help but let out a little laugh, throwing his hands up innocently. He could have sworn she chuckled too. "I'm fuckin' with ya, damn!"

"M'already fucked up enough, don't ya think?" Alyssa mumbled, not sure if she was talking to herself or to the man in the room with her.

"What you say?"

"Nothin' don' worry 'bout it.." Alyssa snuggled herself more into the chair, keeping her eyes out the window. In the back of her head she could still hear the voices in her head talking to her. Asking her questions, driving her crazy. She was almost absolutely certain she was losing her mind. In her mind the voices telling her that New York was a pipe dream, and that she could never go home.

**_You made your choice._**

**_You left us alone._**

**_Now you'll regret it, and the darkness will follow._**

**_Forever._**

"Alyssa?" She twitched at the sudden weigh of Boston hand on her shoulder. Only making a grunting noise as a reply, she could feel him steady his grip on her body as if to calm her down. Needless to say, it was working. "Why don't I take first watch instead? You probably can still use rest, seeing that you just got over the flu.."

Alyssa could only nod okay, getting out of her seat to switch places with Boston. Once she crawled into her bed and found herself in a comfortable position she could feel her body take over and almost instantly give in to the exhaustion and soon after Alyssa was out like a light.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night the two of them switch and Alyssa took the second watch until day break. A part of her was surprised to see that Boston didn't leave her in the middle of the night, or try to kill her in her sleep for that matter. He could of, Boston owed her nothing, and part of her almost wanted him to. She had been trying to unconsciously get her self killed for the past six months.

Yet here she was. _Still breathing._

Alyssa took a deep breath then continued on the patch work of a old leather vest she found. It was in decent condition, but Alyssa felt it was missing something.

Too invested in her work, she didn't notice Boston roll over on the bed. He watched her with a drowsy look on his face, not moving from his spot on the bed. After a couple of minutes he moved his hand to hold up his head and smiled. "What you working on?"

Alyssa's eyes glanced up rather quickly, his smile making her uneasy but at the same time a bit at home. "Just something to remind me of home."

He crawled out of the bed, one of the sheets still wrapped around him, and hovered over her to get a better look at her work. "It looks good."

"My father has a similar one," she finished up the last stitch and the shook out the vest for the two of them to get a better look. She had sown on two custom angel wings to the back of the vest. "When I used to see his wings, they reminded me that he was always watching me. We were a team.. he had my back."

"Sounds like you two were close." Boston replied folding his arms across his chest.

Alyssa nodded, getting up and putting the vest on. "He was my hero." Her eyes closed for a moment, trying to remember what Daryl looked like. To see if she could remember what any of them looked like, but instead all she saw was darkness. When she opened her eyes again she could see the sun rising from the window next to her. She tapped Boston on his fore arm, and then pointed to the sunrise. "Time to go."

They gathered their things and then headed out the back of the house down to the river side. As they swiftly scoped out the Hudson the could see walkers coming from the streets and starting to flood the river side. It was a horde. Alyssa cook feel her feet pick up speed underneath her and not to far behind her was Boston. They kept running for a while before she could hear a thud from behind her. When Alyssa turned around, Boston had fallen to the floor. She didn't hesitate to run back for him, pulling out her Beretta to pick of walkers that were too close. When they were at a distance she was comfortable with Alyssa put her hand out for Boston to grab and helped him up.

"You okay?" Alyssa asked with her hand still gripped tight to his.

He took three steps before stumbling, "Fuckin' hell!" His voice screeched with frustration.

"S'okay. Just go on, I got yer back remember?" Alyssa let go of his hand and readied her gun. For a second he watched her take walkers with her Beretta, not wanting to leave her behind. When Alyssa noticed he was still there, she turned around and shoved him away. "Go, Boston!" All he did was stumble, not yet leaving. "Fuckin' hell Boston, leave!"

He exhaled deep, nodding okay and then making his leave. There was at least twenty plus walkers approaching her, and Alyssa knew she was low on ammo. Not wanting to waste her ammo she put her Beretta away and pulled out her bat. The old thing was equipped with new upgrades, the main one being a dozen or more nails sticking out the top of the bat. With a deep breath she readied her stance and waited for the first walker to reach her. It was a man, tall with dark hair with his jaw missing and his intestines hanging out his chest. As it reached its hand's out for her Alyssa took a swing at it's head. The back got stuck temperately but Alyssa managed to pull it out of its skull and ready herself for the next walker. She turned back for a quick second and realized that Boston was far out of sight.

Turning back to the herd she took out a couple more walkers before realizing she was slowly becoming surrounded. She looked for a clearing in between the herd and when she found an opening she braced herself to run. Even if it got her killed she would go out a fighter, no matter how easy giving up was. Alyssa was about to make her run for it but then a noise from behind her got her attention. Spinning back on her heals she smiled when she saw it.

Boston found a motorboat.

"Let's go, Dixon!" He yelled as he pulled up to the shore and pulled out his Smith and Wesson. Alyssa took one more look back at the herd, and sighed. She was thinking about it. She really was, but the sound of a bullet flying by her eat snapped her back into reality. Behind her Boston screamed for her again. "Dixon!" Finally complying she ran for the boat and jumped in, and as quickly as Boston had drove up to protect her he got the boat off the shore and drove towards the city. As he drove Alyssa stood close by, down on the floor with her hands over her head. Boston had looked back to see her trying to catch her breath. He had a look of disbelief on his face. He had a right to be mad at her. Trying not to be rough, but also to get his point across, Boston smacked the backside of Alyssa's head.. "What the hell was that?! Are you trying get yourself killed!" When she said nothing Boston stopped the boat right in the middle of the Hudson River and turned the motorboat off. He got down on the floor in front of her, and lifted her head lightly with the tip of his thumb. "Dixon, look at me."

When her head shot up he could see that they were blood shot read and she was crying. "Why do you care?"

"Because I'm sick of being alone, dammit!" Boston barked back defensively. "I hadn't seen another living person for the past year and a half until I found you. Haven't trusted someone in longer. You may not need this, but I do."

"You don't me to survive.." Alyssa replied absolutely dumbfounded. "Why do would even you trust me? You don't know shit about me."

Boston got up off the floor, walked back to the wheel and turned the boat back on. As the engine roared he squeezed the wheel tight. "Because you haven't tried to kill me yet for trying to rob you, and you should of. You had every right."

The kept the silence between them strong as the boat crossed the Hudson River. He was very right. Alyssa had every right to shoot him when she woke up a few days ago. She should of shot him, but she choice not to. It was an easy decision for her to make, because as much as she didn't want to admit it she needed to have someone to trust around again. Someone to talk to, who'd say her name in a friendly tone of voice.

She needed this just as badly as Boston did. Provably even more.


	3. Pipe Dreams

**A|N:**

**LOOK I WROTE A THINGY!**

**Actually I wrote this a while ago but because i suck I'm only now putting this up (IM SOORRRYYY!)**

**I'm gonna say this now as a forewarning, but this story is going to slowly get a little out of setting with the way that Robert Kirkman's apocalypses works. I change the game up in this chapter that some of you may not like. It's all for a reason so i promise if you keep reading all of it makes sense. Let me know what you think about my idea down in the comments, feedback is always loved and appreciated.**

**TWD is not mine.**

* * *

"So.. who first?"

Alyssa and Boston stared back and forth between one another and the city side walk directly in front of them. Here they were, at the end of the line. They had finally made it to New York like they had dreamed but now it was like they were statues. They had all the right reasons to be nervous, deep down they knew they did.

It would either be paradise, or just another false promise land. It was the game they were playing. There was no other option, and the only was to find out if they were making the right choice was to take that first step off the boat.

If only they could move.

"Pipe dreams." Alyssa finally muttered under her breath.

"What?" Boston scrunched his nose up as he looked her way.

Alyssa took a deep breath, looking his way for just a moment before staring back at the city streets ahead of her. "That's what we're gon' find when we step over, jus'a bunch of broken pipe dreams."

Boston rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "You don't know that.."

"Yea we do. We've always had." Alyssa adjusted her crossbow over her shoulder and shifted her weight to her right side. "We jus' let our heads get stuck too far up our asses t'see it. Coming to New York was a shitty idea." She glanced Boston's way to see he was already staring at her. There was no clear expression on his face but she had hurt his feelings. That was clear enough. "M'right, ya know."

Boston took out his Smith and Wesson, turned the safety off, and made sure there was ammo. "Only on way to find out."

He threw his bag over first and then followed it soon after, moving along slowly as he stepped onto the island. Making himself aware of his surroundings Boston heard nothing, not finding a single walker in sight. He kept his weapon raised to the city as he looked back at Alyssa. "It's clear."

Alyssa threw her bag over to Boston side and then climbed out of the boat herself. The city was nothing like she had remembered. In the past few years of her being gone, nature had slowly started to take the city back. Over growing weeds and plants covered the brick and stone for as far as her eyes can see.

It was different, but it was still her home.

"So.. where to first?" Boston asked her, watching as she readied the crossbow.

Alyssa threw her bag over her shoulder and armed herself with an arrow. "Home."

* * *

They had spent most of the morning walking down the street of New York, making their way to the lower west side. The walker count for the day was zero, not a damn thing in sight since they stepped foot into the city. As the sun was getting ready to set, the silence of the city was starting to get to Alyssa and Boston.

"Haven't seen a damn white eyes yet." Boston kicked a empty can ahead of his as hard he could, purposely trying to make noise.

Alyssa unarmed her crossbow, tossing the strap over her shoulder but keeping an arrow in her hand. "No people neither, it's really fuckin' weird."

"Maybe they're all dead.." Boston explained.

Alyssa shook her head no, "But we're are the walkers?"

"Maybe they're all dead, too." He added jokingly. Alyssa snorted in disagreement, making Boston smile. From the corner of his eye he could see something metal in the distance. He tapped her shoulder before pointing it out to her. "What do you think that is?"

Alyssa stopped in her tracks, looking to her side and tried to see if she could make out what was out in the distance but she couldn't tell. Dropping her bag to the floor she took out a pair of binoculars to get a better look. What she saw was something that gave her an assortment of mixed emotions. Lowering the binoculars from her face she handed them off to Boston. "It's a fence."

He took the binoculars from her to get a good look himself, not looking for too long before he tried handed them back to her. Never noticing her not take it back "A fence for what? What are they tryna keep in?"

"S'most likely what they're tryna keep out... look!" Alyssa was staring out ahead of her now, her crossbow now back in her hands. "S'that a walker?

He lifted the binoculars up to look out to the figure ahead of them, about two and a half blocks down. The distance between them made it hard to see whether it was dead or alive but by the way it was standing Boston figured walker. "Looks dead to me."

Alyssa nodded, holding her crossbow higher to perfect her aim. "Okay, I got 'er." Steadying her hands she waited for the sun to set a little more and the glare it gave off to dim down. Taking a deep breath she kept her eyes on the target, exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger.

As the arrow flew across the blocks, Alyssa kept her stance tight just in case she would have to fire again. Yet as the arrow got close to its target they could see, what they once thought was, the impossible happen.

The walker side stepped, intentionally dodging the arrow.

"Holy shit." She could hear Boston mumble as he watched threw the binoculars as the walker head towards them.

In a fit of anger Alyssa armed another arrow and took a couple steps closer. Repeating the process over again she waited for the perfect moment for her to pull the trigger again.

Another miss.

"God dammit." She bent down to load the crossbow one more time, not aware of what was happening before her.

"Dixon now ain't the time to be loading that damn thing." Boston had a tone of panic in his voice she hadn't noticed before.

Alyssa only nodded no, her head still down. "Naw, I got this."

Boston shook her to get her attention with one hand, and pulled out his gun with the other. "No we don't."

When her head finally lifted up she could see that the walker was a lot closer to them than she thought, and though it took her a moment to realize she suddenly noticed that wasn't even the worse part. Her heart started to pound as she unconsciously took a couple of steps back.

That walker who dodge her arrow was now running towards them.

"Dixon, run!" Boston yelled, grabbing her arm as they both turned away. They ran full speed towards the gate they noticed before, not playing attention to the increasing number of footsteps following behind them. At some point Boston had grabbed hold of Alyssa's free hand, noticing that she was loosing her breath, desperately trying to keep her from stopping. They had almost reached the gate until he could feel her slowing down.

"I-I can't...!" Alyssa wheezed, feeling her feet starting to halt beneath her.

She started to slow down more, until the point where she was almost tripping over her own feet, and Boston immediately stopped with her. Pulling out his Smith and Wesson he turned around to the 'runners' behind him and started shooting. Alyssa was down on her knees, falling to catch her breath as her vision was becoming hazy. She could hear guns, growls and moans from behind her as her body wobbled back and forth. "B-Boston.."

The last thing she saw was a couple men with guns coming towards her and the sound of Boston calling her name. Soon after she blacked out.

* * *

_please don't leave me again.._

_No, never again.._

"Marie!" Alyssa screamed as jumped up from where she laid. _Bad dream_. She wiped the sweat that was dripping down her brow and took in her surroundings. Based of the clean white room she was in her first guess was a hospital. As she tried to move from the bed she could feel a pounding pain in her head, aftermath of blacking out on concrete. "Fuck." Gently she put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes trying to block out the pain. "Boston?" She called out for the only familiar face she could remember, and when there was no reply she yelled louder. Her voice much more panicked. "Boston!"

The door slammed open not long after, and Boston rushed to her bedside. As their eyes met Alyssa threw her arms around his chest and held him close. She immediately notice the smell of soap lingering on his skin. _He's clean? _Boston had wrapped one arm around her back with the other playing with her long brown locks. "It's okay, we're okay."

"T'hell is this place?" Alyssa move back a bit to look him in the eyes, but never fully letting Boston go. "What t'hell happen to us.."

"Our pipe dream wasn't busted at all, just needed a little duck tape." Boston smiled wide. Not even a minute later two men walked into the room.

The first one was a tall, slim figured man probably in late forties. His hair was a light brown with a obvious hint of grey hiding in his locks, and he dressed in a suit and tie. The entirely wrong getup for this kind of world. While the other was much younger. A well bit man, similar in hight to the first dressed in a NYPD uniform, with the name J. Walsh on the patch across his shirt.

"Good, you're finally awake. You're friend has been very worried about you Miss Dixon." The older man spoke, his punctuation clear and his voice loud and strong matching his business/leadership look. "You were out three days."

"Three days?!" Alyssa gasped, "What t'hell happened? N'who t'hell are you?"

"Name's Officer Jonathan Walsh, and this is Mayor Suttton. We found ya passed out right outside our walls. Ya just weren't hydrated enough, ma'am, you're friend here tells us you we're sick a week ago. Probably just pushed yourself too hard, is all." The officers southern twang was as clear as day from the moment he spoke. He was definitely no New Yorker.

"Dammit.."

"Don't worry, we've been okay though. Officer Walsh and his men saved us from the white eyes right when you passed on me. They brought us here." Boston tried to soften his voice to ease her panic, rubbing his hand up and down her shoulder.

Alyssa looked around. She was in a hospital bed, that much was clear. It was clean, they were clean, pointing to the fact that we're ever they were was being taken care of and they had the time to do things like shower daily. Their appearances made her uneasy, but Boston's presence kept her from pouncing. "Where is here?"

Mayor Sutton put his hand out towards the window, making Alyssa start to maneuver herself from the bed with the help of Boston. He helped her as she limped slowly towards the window. At first all she saw was the suns glare, that was until she was right up against the window. She stared down to the city streets and for the first time in a long time she could see a thriving community full of people. It was a really city. Just like she remembered. After a while she could feel the tears tumble down her cheeks as she lifted both hands up to her mouth. It was a haven, just like Boston said it would be.

"Welcome to Salvation."


End file.
